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Here's a good question to stir up some debate: What do you think is the worst overall airline in the US?

Personally I'd say US, especially if international service is factored in. Over about 15 years, I've seen it go from bad to worse, especially the merger and the elimination of PIT as a hub. Overall I'd say US has the worst service staff (unfriendly and mean compared to other airlines), worst hubs (PHL especially, but also CLT), and just okay on-time performance. Oh and also probably the worst FF program in *A.

http://www.airlineinfo.com/public/2011aqr.pdf

From best to worst
AirTran
Hawaiian
JetBlue
Alaska
Southwest
US Airways
Delta
Continental
Frontier
SkyWest
American
United
Mesa
Comair
Atlantic Southeast
American Eagle

Your mileage will vary

I agree with you on this. Some US airlines arent that good with providing international service. And maybe, Im just throwing it out there, the cabin crew arent trained well enough like other international airliners to handle international services, or maybe just dont like flying for more than 10 hours. But the airline that I think is good with international flights are Delta and United, even though United doesnt fly to Africa like Delta.

But if you look at other airlines, say Emirates, cause I went on it this summer, their cabin crew is very respectful. They even have different ethnic flight attendants on their that speak in different languages. You name it, English, Spanish, Arabic, Korean, Japanese, China etc. And their service is great, even though they are at 4 Stars when they should be at 5. And other airlines like ANA, JAL, Singapore, Asiana, Qantas, Ethiopian, KLM, Swissair, Malaysia, Cathay Pacific, etc, they provide excellent service from what I hear.

United flies to Accra and Lagos in Africa.

"Worst" is so subjective and your experiences years ago are probably not relevant today.

The only airline I won't fly is Spirit because I won't fit in their seats and they have pretty poor on-time performance, which I care about.

Mesa has actually improved a LOT since their bankruptcy and now has one of the better on-time records in the industry (it makes it a lot easier to be on time when your fleet shrinks by over 50%).

I personally don't like flying Southwest, especially out of MDW where they have pretty poor on-time performance, security lines tend to be long, and I don't like open seating. I also find their flight attendants and employees to be somewhat arrogant and their commercials to be annoying.

I've had great experiences on Expressjet but haven't flown them since their merger with ASA. I've also had good experiences on SkyWest, although I don't really like flying on the CRJ-200 since I can't see out the window (on the contrary, I actually like flying on the ERJ since there's the solo seat on one side and I CAN see out the window).

One of my favorite airlines is Shuttle America. Their on-board employees have always been very pleasant and sharp, their aircraft in good condition, and every flight I've had on them has been on-time. I also love flying on the E-jet.

I enjoyed the on-board product on JetBlue when I flew them, but their on-time performance has gotten pretty shoddy and their schedule from ORD really sucks (only 3 flights a day to JFK, 4 to BOS, 1 to LGB) so it's hard to actually consider them when I fly.

How could I have missed that? And let me tell you that your opinions make sense if you've actually flown those airlines before.

Personally for me, I would never fly Frontier in my life again cause one time, I was headed to Denver from Spokane, we got delayed at Spokane for an hour because of weight issue, or plane issue. Once we reached Denver, we were put in a holding pattern twice before landing, and it seemed like other planes that came after we did were landing before us, which pissed me off. So that's why I'll never fly Frontier unless I have to.

Southwest on the other hand, is personally my favorite domestic airline. Sometimes their on-time performance isnt so good, but once in a while, we leave and arrive early than scheduled. And yes, their commercials are annoying, but some flight attendants can be rude. Hoping to go on another flight.

Horizon, now Alaska, I would fly it again, but we had the same issue at Frontier, but they were able to solve the problem faster, and we werent delayed as long for our arrival. I would fly them again, but havent in a long time.

Skywest, pretty good performance on being on time, but at the same time, flight attendants can be rude at one point during the flight. Havent flown with them in a long time, but Im hoping to fly with them again in the near future.

Also, Im just throwing this out there, Emirates has good service, but their on time rating is always in the toilet. Most flights are always delayed in Dubai, or sometimes in other places, like SFO, JFK, IAH, LAX, CDG, CYYZ etc.

united because they break guitars

I have no complaints whatsoever about the service and flight punctulaity today on TWA, Eastern, Southern, Braniff, PanAm, North Central, Ozark, Piedmont, or National.

Piedmont merged with Allegheny and PSA to form US Airways, and the name is now used by a regional carrier for USAir

PSA had already been purchased by USAir by the time Piedmont was purchased.

1979: Allegheny changes its name to USAir.
1983: Henson Aviation is acquired by Piedmont
1986: Piedmont acquires Jetstream International Airlines
1986: USAir purchases Pacific Southwest Airlines
1987: USAir purchases Piedmont, including Jetstream International and Henson
1993: USAir renames Henson to Piedmont
1995: USAir renames Jetstream International Airlines to PSA Airlines
1996: USAir changes its name to US Airways

Jetstream and Henson were renamed in order to prevent other airlines from using the names PSA and Piedmont

I have had terrible experiences with United/Continental from customer service to the flight. I hear people call it the "prison in the sky", but I also know people who stick by them. There is always going to be someone who has a bad experience with every airline and that will tarnish their image of that company forever. For example, a few of you voted for US, but I had great experiences all 3 times I flew them. Not sure if I want to test their international service, but domestic was pretty good.

I fly almost exclusively domestically now and find that the aircraft and airport make for a more enjoyable experience than the airline (personnel, delays, etc.). So, I try to get the best fare and choose the most comfortable aircraft or, since I write for a web site on airlines, I choose the aircraft that suits my article. With less choices for connecting flights, I'll take the ERJ's over the CRJ's any-day. I prefer CLT and ATL to the old HOU terminal and PHL. CLE was nice and CVG was under construction. LGA is pretty efficient for the small terminals and had updated facilities.

As for service, I found US to be pretty good. I had allowed myself to be bumped and they never gave me the flight voucher. After a nice email to corporate, the manager at GSO was calling me on the phone and put my voucher in the mail. They were apologetic anid follow through. It just took a little patience on my part.

As for what's left of the free perks, at least Delta and AirTran gives you some snack with the drink while US just gives you a drink.

I seldom fly so I enjoy it regardless of the hassles and people that sometimes make it more challenging.

Continental seats,,particularly on b757,,,b737-800 and 900,,,worst in industry,,,,,cramped,,lousy cushions,,,,and,,,miserable...

I fly Southwest mostly but have flown American Eagle several times for convenience but did not care for the sort of sloppy way they do things. I can't be really specific here, sorry. In the future I will give up convenience and be loyal to Southwest. I have never had a "bad" experience with them.

Not Really worst Airline I have experienced, but in my two round trip to Europe
from PHIL, US Airlines have served my butter's bar warmed with the meal.....
Some one know why and why they do not realize that melted butter is really impossible to spread??

Spirit Airlines

Cheap, Overbooked, and charges for everything.

Nuff said

I avoid flying Delta, especially when I have to check bags. I flew to Florida, they lost my bag and didn't get it back to me until a week later when I was already back home in Connecticut. Not a good experience! I also know a ton of other people who have lost bags, all while flying Delta.

I also avoid US because the last flight attendant I had with them was downright miserable and unfriendly, but I don't know if it's fair for me to say they're one of the worst airlines based on just one of their employees.

I try to stick with jetBlue... my only gripe about them is that they don't have wifi onboard yet.

I wouldn't say US Airways is completely awful, but it is pretty bad at times. It is the main option for PHL, so I've flown on it a lot. Compared to other, I guess it's not that good. I once flew PHL-LAX, a nonstop flight, and they managed to lose us and like 50 other people's luggage. That is bad.

It's called "Newton's Law of the Online Forum" -- For every "expert opinion" there is an equal and opposite "expert opinion"

The PHL ground crew probably hadn't finished rifling through them for valuables!

Over the years, I've had both good and bad experiences on all of the airlines mentioned. But the absolute worst was the day of the 2008 elections when I was flying MDT to ATL and then on to MIA on DL. Six AM flight, they start to board and find they are missing an alcohol tray (or some such thing) and get everyone off. Calls to Atlanta operations get nothing. The captain won't fly because he is responsible for the tray. Five hours of sitting around they finally got the okay to leave, had a local ground mechanic come on and secure the area with duct tape and bungie cords and we leave. Instead of arriving at MIA at 11AM or so, we land at 4:30, just in time to fight the traffic all the way to Homestead so we can get to the Keys.